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Description:A sexy bunch of underwater explorers are summoned to Romania's Carpathian Mountains, where scientists have discovered a gigantic cave network containing a lengthy underground river. Cutting-edge breathing gear gets unpacked, camaraderie and budding romances develop, and then everyone becomes trapped in the depths, where monsters start picking off cast members, one by one. Escape depends on Jack, played by the dependably steely-eyed Cole Hauser (PAPARAZZI), who picked up a bad monster bite that may have infected his mind. Super-vixen Charlie (Piper Perabo) stands by him and displays a soothing screen presence as the tomboy rock cA sexy bunch of underwater explorers are summoned to Romania's Carpathian Mountains, where scientists have discovered a gigantic cave network containing a lengthy underground river. Cutting-edge breathing gear gets unpacked, camaraderie and budding romances develop, and then everyone becomes trapped in the depths, where monsters start picking off cast members, one by one. Escape depends on Jack, played by the dependably steely-eyed Cole Hauser (PAPARAZZI), who picked up a bad monster bite that may have infected his mind. Super-vixen Charlie (Piper Perabo) stands by him and displays a soothing screen presence as the tomboy rock climber in the crew, while Leana Headey plays the sexy Romanian biologist who fears that Jack is turning into a monster himself. Fans of B-movie monster movies should find this a nice cave to visit; there's no skimping on action or impressive set design, and each new cavern is weirder and more claustrophobic than the last. Staggeringly tall cliff faces, dark ominous waters, and a great, nerve-wracking orchestral soundtrack all add up to a fun horror adventure in the classic Saturday matinee sense. Of course, like all good monster movies, it borrows liberally from past classics: think of it as ANACONDA meets ALIEN by way of JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, and if that doesn't sound like a fine way to spend a lazy Saturday afternoon, make sure you tread carefully as you exit THE CAVE!

While it might give spelunkers a few helpful hints about using their equipment, The Cave is strictly routine as an Alien-styled monster show. The film's major achievement is its impressive setting -- not a real cave under the Carpathian mountains (where the ill-fated characters are exploring "the Amazon of underground rivers") but a lavishly convincing cave set built on a Romanian soundstage. This gives first-time director Brad Hunt (a second- and third-unit director on the Matrix trilogy) the movie's only claim to originality, as the cavernous interiors become a death trap for most of the nine-person team (led by Cole Hauser, and including Morris Chestnut, Daniel Dae Kim from TV's Lost, and Coyote Ugly's Piper Perabo) that's exploring the maze-like cave for reasons never fully explained (maybe they just wanted to test out their fancy gear). They're not alone down there, and creature-feature specialist Patrick Tatopoulos borrows from the H.R. Giger design-book with some gnarly critters that, in turn, borrow elements from The Thing to foment suspicion and anxiety among the dwindling crew of survivors. It's all familiar to genre buffs, but there's just enough in The Cave to satisfy the curiosity of its intended audience. Dumped into theaters for a marginal release in late summer 2005, it's precisely the kind of horror flick that finds a second life on DVD. --Jeff Shannon